BOX
SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. - First-years Kathleen King
(Framingham, Mass.) and Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley,
Mass.) combined for 34 points, including the final six of
the game, and sophomore Becky Bowman (Melrose,
Mass.) added 13 points as host Babson College handed
visiting WPI its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic
Conference (NEWMAC) loss of the season, 62-57, at Staake Gymnasium
on Wednesday night. With their third win in the last four games,
the Beavers improved to 11-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference,
while the Engineers (14-5 overall, 6-1 NEWMAC) saw their eight-game
win streak come to an end.
King posted her seventh double-double of the season for Babson,
amassing 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with a team-high four
steals. Wurdeman shook off a foul-plagued first-half to finish with
a team-best 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and Bowman
shot 6-for-10 to total 13 points and four assists. First-year
Kelly McKenna (Shrewsbury, Mass.) also added some
big minutes off the bench for the Beavers, who lost top reserve
forward Sarah Hughes (Wellesley, Mass.) to an
injury late in the first half.
WPI was paced by junior Serene Dubois (Bangor, Maine), who shot
7-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line for 19 points to
go with seven rebounds. Sophomore Elle Fontaine (Franklin, Mass.)
added four big three-pointers to finish with 14 points and six
boards, and senior co-captain Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle,
Maine) chipped in with 10 points, six boards, and four assists.
Babson used a 12-3 run midway through the opening period to turn
a 6-6 tie into an 18-9 advantage, but the Engineers responded with
an 8-0 run that was fueled by four points each from Dubois and
Deschene to cut their deficit to 22-21. Babson then went back up by
five after a Bowman jumper and two free throws from sophomore
Renay Hamilton (Lynn, Mass.) with 27 seconds left,
but Descene capped off a solid first half with two free throws that
cut the hosts' advantage to three at the break, 26-23.
After the two teams battled back and forth for the first four
minutes of the second half, the Beavers surged out to a nine-point
lead (44-35) with an 11-2 run that featured five points by Bowman
and four more by King. However, WPI would outscore the hosts, 18-6,
over the next six minutes, including a huge three-pointer by
Fontaine followed by a jumper by junior Kaileen Selen (Worcester,
Mass.) that gave the Engineers a 53-50 lead with 5:44 remaining.
WPI still led after a pair of free throws by Dubois made it
55-53 with just under three minutes left, but first-year
Michelle Kenel (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) answered
with a clutch three from the left elbow to put Babson in front
56-55. Deschene responded with a nice pull-up jumper in the lane to
put WPI ahead 57-56 with 2:02 on the clock, but those would prove
to be the visitors' final points of the contest as the Beavers
closed with a 6-0 run. Wurdeman knocked down two free throws to
give Babson a 58-57 edge with 1:45 remaining, and King tacked on
four more from the line - two with 38.2 seconds left and another
pair with 8.0 to play - as Babson came away with the 62-57
conference win.
